Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-08-18
THE PITCHERS ARM.
ADVICE WHICH A DOCTOR GIVES
THE BASEBALL PLAYER.

THE BASEBALL PLAYER.
Exercise Should Be Taksn in the Sum
shine-Liniments of Little Use to the
Pitchers Disabled Arm-Hints of Gen.
eral Value.
DR.. Leuf fully explains for the benefit Of
his brothers in medicine the different symp-
toms and ailments of the pitchers arm, and
how they are produced, and he asserts that
the bones are frequently involved In the af-
fections of pitchers arms. He says this last
assertion may subject him TO skeptical criti-
cism, but he makes it most positively. DR..
Leuf gives the pitcher some good advice for
the preservation of his pitching arm He
prescribes regular exercise regardless of the
work done in game. A pitcher during
practice should work at his ease and oc-
casionally put on a squirt in speed and make
an effort to do his best Then he should lapse
back again into easy work. When pitcher
has an "off" day, day when he lacks
natural interest in his work, it is well to do
nothing but easy pitching. At no time should
the exercise be violent-that is, straining at
the beginning.
=
ually increasing it, enables the muscles to &C
custom themselves to associate or coordinate
work The truth Of this is borne out by the
fact that most of the wrenches and disloca-
tions that happen to ball players occur in the
early part of the season and in the early part
of the game Pitchers, TO be in good FORM"
should practice for about one hour every
morning and afternoon, Sundays included.
The exercise should be restricted to fifteen or
twenty minutes for that half Of the day in
which regular work is to be done in a game.
Dr. Leuf further recommends that all exer-
else be taken in the SUM- 1t is risky to pitch
with vigor when the temperature in the shade
falls below 60 degs 1t is necessary after
severe outdoor practice at lower tempera-
ture than 60 degs. to keep the body very
warm, either by vigorous general exercise,
such as walking, or better still by keeping in
a warm room for one or two hours This Is
all important at the beginning of the season
with one who has been out of practice during
the winter. An important fact to bear in
mind, though seldom, if ever, appreciated, is
that it is Of vastly more Importance to MAIN
tain high temperature equally about the
whole body than taking good u care of the
pitching arm and letting the rest of the body
take care of itself. This latter plan is the
one usually followed, but is radically wrong.
Liniments should never be used on a
pitchers arm; or, in fact, on any part of the
body Of an athlete in case of pain from over
exertion. In the first place, they are utterly
useless, and instead of mitigating the deep
seated pains, they add to them that of an
irritant- In the second place, if they con-
tain aconite and If this constituent is alb
sorbed, it benumbs the terminal nerve fila
ments and so lowers the maximum of mus
cular contractibility, as well as the rapidity
OF its responsiveness to the will and CO.
ordination refiexes Morphia or opium and
other anodynes are not unlikely to produce
exactly similar results. That lininents
sometimes have good effect in these cases
do not deny, but the effect is mainly that
of much required placebo, and in such in
stances it is best to use a very mild nom
enodyne IMMINENT, with plenty of hot fan
mel Rubbing, massage and passive motion
should invariably be discouraged. These
manipulations are excellent substitutes for
voluntary exercise in patients who are help
less or comparatively so but they serve no
beneficial purpose to limb that has Just
ceased undergoing the severest kind of phys
ical strain for one or two hours. Such
part requires temporary rest, and will do
best without systematic exercise, though
passive, till the next regular period for prac-
tice.
Regular exercise twice daily in the manner
already indicated should form the main
treatment of a diseased pitching arm. Every
other plan Of treatment, to be permanently
beneficial must be subservient to this one
idea. The object of a continuous exercise is
to encourage and bring to a climax and final
completion those congestive and inflamma-
tory processes in the muscles, igaments,
cartilage and bones that lead to hypertrophy
and necessary increase in strength.
Much of the pain experienced Immediately
after game or practice may be abolished by
position. As a rule, if the arm is held directly
upward, preferably by another person with
out any effort on the part of the patient,
there will speedily ensue sense of compare
tive comfort A few gentle strokes from the
hand along the arm down to the base of the
shoulder facilitate the return of blood and
hasten relief. Immersion of the whole upper
extremity and shoulder into water at as high
temperature as can be tolerated produces a
most gratifying sensation Of relief If a
rubber sleeve including the whole limb and
fitting tightly about the base of the shoulder
is applied with the arm held up over the head
by an assistant and the water turned into
the sleeve, the result will be the combined
effects of hot water and gravitation. This
may be kept up for from five to thirty min
utes, depending upon the severity of the pain,
and upon the effect trials have shown it to
have on that particular patient. The drying
Of the patients arm must be done gently.
There must be no vigorous rubbing or
squeezing He should not at all refrain from
using it for ordinary purposes even if it be
somewhat painful.
In severer cases, where there is an excess
of infammatory products the best remedy is
mild galvanism. The strength of current
and length of time it is employed are deter
mined by experience with the patient under
treatment and his own sensations This seems
to be the best rule.-Philadelphia Times